https://www.resoundingtheamericas.org/about daily 0.75 2020-05-15 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5eb9fa6a363a8e5c32d9d412/1589571587175/IMG_0187.jpg About - About This digital collection was created and curated by Salvadoran-American ethnomusicologist Christina Azahar. Her research explores music, politics, feminism, and cultural flows/tensions in and between Latin America and the United States. The galleries in this collection draw on images, recordings, and video taken during ethnographic fieldwork in Chile and El Salvador between 2014-2018. Each multimedia story examines how marginalized groups across the Américas use music to redefine patriarchal understandings of community, to rewrite understandings of identity beyond national and regional borders, and to re-sound what it means to move, travel, and find belonging in a rapidly changing world. Unless otherwise attributed, all photographs, audio, and videos on this site were taken by Christina Azahar. All quotes are drawn from Christina’s ethnographic interviews. Christina retains rights to all images, sounds, and video. https://www.resoundingtheamericas.org/stories daily 1.0 2020-05-15 https://www.resoundingtheamericas.org/stories/soundingfromunder monthly 0.5 2020-05-15 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebb375069fce50ec671d61b/1589395542801/IMG_2818.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under - “Today there are so many different spaces of feminist struggle. To me, it seems like what calls us together is creativity. And this creativity, although it may come from sorrow and absolute precarity, is grounded in love. ” — Antonia Piña, Coordinadora Femfest https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebb384902ed8c08bc4e84e0/1589512731881/Coordinadora+FEMFEST+Presentation+6.9.18_Page_01.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Femfest logo with collage of images from past festivals. Source: “Presentación Convocatoria Femfest,” (June 9, 2018) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebdec286480bc4830264a36/1589512760647/Coordinadora+FEMFEST+Presentation+6.9.18_Page_04.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under “What we do.” Slide presented to prospective participant bands for the 2018 festival Source: “Presentación Convocatoria Femfest,” (June 9, 2018) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebded6e5afd0a542978dc2b/1589505426530/IMG_2884.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under - “I have this memory that’s now really funny of being in a taxi with [Manuela], and her saying, ‘We should do a festival of all-women bands,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, we should do it…’ I have that moment stuck in my memory, the two of us just looking out the window absentmindedly and thinking, “Hmm… We should do it…” — Maria Paz Reese (left), Coordinadora Femfest https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebc5ae9736960683b382d69/1589512788049/399380_1_En_12_Fig3_HTML.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Hija de Perra preparing to MC Festival Femfest (year unknown) Source: Coordinadora Femfest Archives https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebc72aa4b815f50bc08c1a3/1589512829991/IMG_3327.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Artist and Femfest member Carolina Ozaus performs at Festival Femfest 2018 alongside a poster of Hija de Perra. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebb3ef2f9706c600a1cc749/1589512838000/IMG_2379.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Altar for Hija de Perra at a Femfest “tokada” (show) in August 2018. The event commemorated the anniversary of her death and also helped raise funds for the festival in October 2018. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebdf917589fc96071b25a8b/1589508393080/IMG_2516.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under - “When Hija de Perra arrived as part of Femfest, she arrived immediately as the animator of Femfest. And without us thinking about it, wanting it, meditating on it, or proposing it to her, Hija de Perra became the voice of Femfest for ten years. So imagine, these four years that Hija de Perra hasn’t been with us have been a major blow.” — Barbarella Finsterbusch, Coordinadora Femfest https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebc748e89557a36ca077333/1589513363199/IMG_2632.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Opening ice-breakers on the first day of Escuela de Formación Femfest’s Sign Language Class (August 29, 2018) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebe0e4449d4cd56dea130e0/1589513904967/IMG_2668.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Students silently perform a scene from the movie Finding Nemo in which a group of fish join together to escape a fishing boat’s net. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebe0e957ea2534d58b9480c/1589513923336/IMG_2669.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebdfcfe2c54273a02f036e1/1589513937340/HJGG8904.JPG Stories - Sounding from Under Wire and string are hung back and forth across the basement of the art collective whose space was used to print. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebe04bb30f40660aab85261/1589511414161/IMG_3226.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under The open-mouth Femfest logo illuminates the backdrop of the indoor stage as poet Fernanda Meza (right) reads her work https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebc8dfec3100d5d5563dd27/1589509827375/IMG_2809.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Femfest organizers make final touches on an installation outside of the festival venue which reads “Sem frem bienveni pami nou” (“Sister, brother welcome in our midst”) in Haitian Creole - a gesture of welcome to the many Haitian migrants who now live in the neighborhood where the festival took place. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebc8e76d283c247afe43da8/1589509854167/IMG_2816.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under As most Femfest organizers rush to set up tents for vendors (behind) Anto (left) and Barbarella (right) decide where to place the Femfest banner. Barbarella wants it to be hung so it will be visible not only to attendees but also to community members passing by the venue. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebe00b649d4cd56de9f749e/1589510369093/IMG_2820.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Festival organizers gather on the roof to adjust and re-adjust the banner, making sure its perfectly centered over the entryway to the venue, Centro Cultural Lo Prado. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebe006b42f2b613cb9ce707/1589510300247/IMG_2831.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under A lesbian feminist publishing collective lays out their inventory at the festival marketplace. A theme in their selection this year was guides on how to access safe free or low-cost abortions. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebe013155c4026a6672b362/1589510567660/IMG_2853.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Jacksa Suazo (left), instructor of Escuela Femfest’s sound production class, works with a student to prepare for sound check. According to many attendees, having a collective of women run sound made the event seem less hierarchical and less competitive, elements which they saw as crucial parts of Femfest’s anti-patriarchal agenda. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebed9a36226b233a63ccbf5/1589565987752/IMG_2903.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Singer-songwriter Araceli does her sound check with fellow classmates from Femfest’s 2018 Sound Production class. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebc98070b8afc7cbffd4f2e/1589510606711/IMG_3072.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Group Lactosa Postmortem uses elaborate puppetry to perform a musical drama narrating the story of a singer who wakes up to realize that she is dead. Alternating between the gleeful and the somber, the performance asked audiences to consider their own mortality and take hold of their fleeting opportunities for human connection. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebc98f4ee8f3727449adcca/1589510621900/IMG_2872.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Artist Tania Corvalán listens to her bandmate during sound check. Even before the festival officially begins, she has begun to take on the mystique of her stage persona. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebc99c39c277a157ee94d29/1589510658463/IMG_2891.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Amidst the bustle of setting up, Mila (left) pauses to breathe for a moment with Paz (right). At the time this photo was taken, Paz was about 5 months pregnant. Mila, an educator on women’s sexual and reproductive health, wanted to make sure she was properly nourished and not over-exerting herself. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebe022cc1fd5f5f31aab165/1589510883659/IMG_2886.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Paz (center) introduces Christina Azahar (right) to Rosa Peñaloza (left), the mother of Hija de Perra. Peñaloza still attends Femfest festivals and events regularly as a way to honor her son, whose given name was Victor Hugo (“Wally”) Pérez Peñaloza. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebe0252e34d655003db452c/1589510786049/IMG_2905.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Gerardo Figueroa (second from the right) is a musicologist and well-known producer and journalist in Santiago’s underground and alternative rock scenes. A long-time ally of Coordinadora Femfest, this year he made the festival a required event for students in his undergraduate class, all of whom happened to be men. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebc9cc958d36160f9f95b69/1589510960649/IMG_2982.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under In a first for the organization, the 2018 festival featured an exhibition on Decolonial Art curated by Femfest members Camila Arma, a professional photographer, and Gaba Reveco, a professional art preservationist. Above, Camila reads a manifesto on the installation and invites attendees to visit between sets. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebc9d439c9d551b8a9d01fd/1589510963151/IMG_3058.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under This piece by Colectivo 33º Sur is a map of leathers arranged in the form of a crime scene. It is meant to represent an “aesthetic necrology,” with each piece of fabric standing in for the body of a woman murdered due to femicide. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebe039251dadb2dcdb78b61/1589511091483/IMG_3113.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Mapuche poet and activist Marjorie Huaiqui (left), prepares for her panel and performance workshop on Mapuche music, dance, and storytelling. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebe03cfc43d97418ba5f373/1589511166370/IMG_3151.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Artist Vilú Esa, originally from the island of Chiloé in Southern Chile, performs the classic song “Marinerito Pulio” by folk artist Rosario Hueicha. The lilting waltz is translated into signs by a student from Femfest’s sign language class. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebca00e98039652a3d000be/1589511595452/IMG_3153.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Femfest is a decidedly non-separatist feminist festival, and the group relies on the support of men to help with childcare during their events. Above, a man explores the festival marketplace and merch tables with his young daughter. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebe068201f8bc0bfaeda713/1589512017709/IMG_3285.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Over halfway through the day’s events, Barbarella (left) and Cami (right) enjoy a quick moment to happily acknowledge the success of the festival so far. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebe06a72f42e34d22054c90/1589512027107/IMG_3281.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Copies of the 2018 Femfest compilado (mixed tape). These mixed tapes have been created for every edition of the festival, and they always feature songs from each band on a particular year’s lineup. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebca632dd0a8a397d1f3fbd/1589512114794/IMG_3365.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Punk rock band Ana Frank performs at the indoor stage. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebca8191177e774255842a1/1589512185722/IMG_3496.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Ke Ruede band members remained joyfully onstage, forestalling the inevitable end of the festival. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebca7e6487c3c543a86076c/1589512177789/IMG_3480.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under Emo/ska rock band Ke Ruede closes out the festival with their final song of the night. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb5d41009a23e07780ea2d9/t/5ebe08726b504275e5a19122/1589512390458/IMG_3526.jpg Stories - Sounding from Under The 2018 Femfest team from left to right: Camila Camacho, Camila Arma, Gaba Reveco, Antonia Piña, Maria Paz Reese, Barbarella Finsterbusch, Carolina Ozaus, Sol Saldivia, Christina Azahar, Valeria Soto https://www.resoundingtheamericas.org/stories/sacandolavoz monthly 0.5 2020-05-14 https://www.resoundingtheamericas.org/stories/feministfestivals monthly 0.5 2020-05-14 https://www.resoundingtheamericas.org/stories/songsandmemoriesofelsalvador monthly 0.5 2020-05-14